The Greater Cleveland Conference is an active OHSAA athletic league that originally existed from 1950 to 1998, then re-formed (including two prior members, Mentor and Euclid) to begin play in the 2015–2016 school year.
25-597: This second collection of schools was able to use the name "Greater Cleveland Conference" from the defunct league because Mentor retained the rights to the name from its previous tenure in the GCC. All of the initial members of the reformed league but one left the Northeast Ohio Conference to join, while Euclid came over from the Lake Erie League . As noted under "History", three schools have left
50-727: A Division I High School in the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA). Formerly of the Lake Erie League (LEL) and the Northeast Ohio Conference (NOC), Mentor now competes in the Greater Cleveland Conference (GCC) The Mentor Cardinals have won several team and individual state championship titles and have many state appearances sponsored by the OHSAA. Team State Champions Five students died by suicide in an approximately four-year period ending in 2008, allegedly as
75-416: A campaign rally when President Obama came to Mentor High School during the 2012 Presidential Election. The band qualified for the state contest again in the fall of 2014, where they received their third Superior rating with their show entitled "The Divine Comedy." More recently, the band earned three superior ratings in a row at OMEA State Finals for the 2017-2018, 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 marching seasons, with
100-556: A recent history of success. Top team finishes at the Ohio State Tournament include a first-place performance in 2017, second place in 2015, second place in 2009, and second place in 2007. Top team finishes at the National Tournament include a fourteenth-place finish in 2017, fifteenth-place finish in 2015, seventh-place finish in 2009, and fifth-place finish in 2007. Mentor High School is classified as
125-433: Is the largest group and consists of string, percussion and wind instruments. Mannheim Chamber Orchestra is the most selective group and consists entirely of stringed instruments. There are four curricular concert choirs that perform at concerts, festivals, and OMEA adjudicated events throughout the year. In addition, there are two vocal chamber ensembles and an auditioned show choir. Mentor Science Olympiad has demonstrated
150-549: The Suburban League . Members spanned five Northeast Ohio counties: Cuyahoga , Lake , Lorain , Medina , and Summit . Divisional breakdowns (listed below) differ depending on the sport; considerations include strength, geography and traditional rivalries This table only includes state championships won by schools while members of the Northeast Ohio Conference. The NOC formed largely by
175-591: The FCMB, is a music program. The band plays at most home and away football games as well as competing at several competitions. The FCMB received its first "Superior Rating", the highest rating possible for competitions at the state contest, in 2004 under the direction of Mr. Shawn Vondran and Mr. Byron Hunsicker. During the 2012–2013 school year, the band earned another Superior rating at state contest with their show "I Believe." They also performed live for Fox 8 News in front of The Rock and Roll hall of Fame , and performed at
200-489: The GCC since its reformation, while two have joined (including one that rejoined after leaving). The current roster of members include four schools from Cuyahoga County (Euclid, Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, and Strongsville), two from Medina County (Brunswick and Medina), and one from Lake County (Mentor). The departed schools were from Lorain County (Elyria) and Cuyahoga County (Solon). The Greater Cleveland Conference
225-567: The GCC, with Euclid moving to the Lake Erie League along with a neighboring school, South Euclid-Lyndhurst Brush. But in 1968, when Garfield Heights also left the GCC for the Lake Erie League, Willoughby South, Mentor, and Mayfield (all from the Freeway Conference) joined the GCC to increase the league to eight schools. Seven years later, in 1975, Berea and Midpark left to join the Lake Erie League, which had more schools on
250-581: The LEL, better geography and travel times, but also diversity/cultural sensitivity issues" as reasons for leaving. On January 16, 2020, Elyria accepted an invitation to leave for the Southwestern Conference , effective in 2021. These departures left the league with only six schools for the 2021–22 and 2022–23 school years. More changes followed quickly. A unanimous vote on April 13, 2022, granted approval for Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights of
275-477: The Lake Erie League to join the conference beginning with the 2023-24 school year. Later that year, in September, Solon announced plans to leave for the Suburban League at the conclusion of the current school year, a year earlier than conference bylaws allowed. At its December 2022 meeting, the GCC approved Solon's departure for all sports except for football, citing difficulties scheduling with seven teams. Under
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#1732787220061300-561: The Mentor Exempted Village School district, Memorial Middle School, Shore Middle School, feed into Mentor High School. The third middle school, Ridge Middle School, closed before the 2018–2019 school year had commenced, and has since been repurposed as an elementary school. It serves Mentor, Mentor-on-the-Lake , a portion of Kirtland Hills , a portion of Concord Township , and a portion of Chardon Township . Mentor High School received ratings of excellent from
325-477: The Ohio Department of Education from the 2003–2004 school year through the 2011–2012 school year. Since the 2011–2012 school year, the Ohio Department of Education has been constructing a new statewide evaluation model and has not released overall building ratings. Mentor High School continues to see an increase in student achievement of National Merit recognition. Mentor High School has received
350-592: The agreement, Solon football will play the 2023 season in the GCC while all other sports will begin play in the Suburban League. Football will join the Suburban League in 2024. In May 2024, the conference approved Lorain to join the conference in all sports in the 2025-26 school year.<ref> https://gccohio.net/2024/05/15/lorain-to-join-the-greater-cleveland-conference/ . {{ cite web }} : Missing or empty |title= ( help ) Northeast Ohio Conference The Northeast Ohio Conference ( NOC )
375-521: The conference logo in 2006. Following the 2010/11 school year, Mentor High School joined after leaving the Lake Erie League , while Nordonia High School left to join the Suburban League . Following the 2011/12 school year, Shaker Heights High School joined after leaving the Lake Erie League, while Lakewood High School left to join the West Shore Conference . Listed below are the current 18 member schools. In November 2013 it
400-464: The following independent rankings. Mentor High School offers an extensive selection of 23 Advanced Placement courses including the following. Mentor High School offers a College Credit Plus program where students may earn college credit through taking courses at nearby Lakeland Community College. Two pathways are offered including a 15 credit option and 30 credit option. For the 30 credit pathway, students may choose an area of specialization including
425-634: The following. Mentor High School, through Lakeshore Compact, offers the following Career Tech Education programs in the district and through community partnerships with Lakeland Community College, Euclid High School, Wickliffe High School, and Auburn Career Center. These include the following programs. There are four concert bands at Mentor High School. These include Freshman Band, Grey Band, Scarlet Band, and Wind Ensemble, at increasing levels of skill. All four bands compete in OMEA contests. The Mentor High School Fighting Cardinal Marching Band, commonly called
450-625: The merging of two eight-member conferences: Pioneer and Western Reserve. Garfield Heights and Lakewood , then members of the Lake Erie League , also joined. The new conference began play during the 2007-08 school year. Mentor High School Mentor High School is a public high school located in Mentor, Ohio , United States. It is the only high school in the Mentor Exempted Village School District (informally, "Mentor Schools"). At one time, it
475-499: The rights to the league name. The inaugural lineup of the reformed Greater Cleveland Conference began in 2015 with Brunswick, Elyria, Euclid, Medina, Mentor, Shaker Heights, Solon, and Strongsville. But two changes happened within the first five years. Shaker Heights announced in January 2019 that they would leave the GCC to rejoin the Lake Erie League for the 2020–21 school year. The district cited "new and improved leadership in
500-510: The shows "To Boldly Go!", "The Hands of Time" and "Uninvited" respectively. This was accomplished under the current band director, Stephen Poremba. Mentor has four orchestras in its program, including Concert, Sinfonia, Symphony, and Mannheim. Concert Orchestra is the smallest group, composed of stringed instruments and requires no audition to join. Sinfonia is a string-only ensemble for younger students who are committed to practicing but not yet prepared for Symphony Orchestra. Symphony Orchestra
525-406: The west side of Cleveland, but Euclid rejoined the GCC and brought Brush along, maintaining the league at eight. The conference remained unchanged after that for eighteen years until 1993, when Mentor left for the Lake Erie League and was replaced by Nordonia High School. However, that began a process of league dissolution, and the conference dissolved within the next five years, with Mentor retaining
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#1732787220061550-474: Was a high school athletics conference, recognized by the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA), in northeast Ohio . Eighteen member schools — each located within the Northeast ;District of the OHSAA (Class AAA, Divisions I and II) — competed in three six-member divisions: Valley, River and Lake. Dan Gerome served as the last NOC commissioner. Anthony J. Paletta designed
575-564: Was announced that seven schools were leaving the Northeast Ohio Conference to form a new league named the Greater Cleveland Conference . The schools leaving were Elyria, Brunswick, Medina, Mentor, Shaker Heights, Solon and Strongsville. Brush and Mayfield were also invited to join the Greater Cleveland Conference, but decided to join the newly created Western Reserve Conference . Cuyahoga Falls, Hudson, North Royalton, Stow-Munroe Falls and Twinsburg are also leaving to join
600-514: Was originally formed by six high schools in 1950: five from Cuyahoga County (Bedford, Berea, Euclid, Garfield Heights, and Maple Heights), and one from Lake County (Willoughby Union). When Willoughby Union split into two schools in 1957, one of those schools, Eastlake North, replaced it in the GCC; the other, Willoughby South, was not added. However, when the Berea district was similarly split into two schools, Berea and Midpark, in 1962, both were added to
625-522: Was the largest high school in Ohio based on single building enrollment. For the 2008–2009 school year, it shifted from a three-year school (grades 10–12) to a four-year high school (grades 9–12), serving approximately 2,700 students. Mentor High School educates students from Mentor , Mentor-on-the-Lake , and parts of Kirtland Hills and Concord Township in Lake County, Ohio . Both middle schools from
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